


Applause

by i_am_still_bb



Series: Gathering Fiki - 12 Days of Christmas (2020) [4]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_am_still_bb/pseuds/i_am_still_bb
Summary: Fili loves the laughter of his audience. Too bad that his instructors at the Academy did not see it the same way. Well, it's their loss.
Relationships: Fíli/Kíli (Tolkien)
Series: Gathering Fiki - 12 Days of Christmas (2020) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048309
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9
Collections: GatheringFiKi - 12 Days Of Christmas 2020





	Applause

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this photoset.

Fili laces his fingers together and stretches his arms in front of him and over his head. Tendons pop and joints creak.

Kili grumbles from beneath the blankets. “So early…”

Fili turns and grins. “Some of us don’t make a living on our good looks.”

“Not fair.” Kili sits up and rubs his hands over his already unruly hair. “And you could,” he says, running his fingers through Fili’s short beard.

Fili presses a quick kiss to Kili’s forehead before getting out of the bed to a symphony of protests from Kili.

“I thought you had everything finished with that parody?”

“So did I.” Fili shrugs a jacket on. “But another idea came to me towards the end of the rehearsal last night.”

“Oh?” Kili’s eyes brighten.

“No!” Fili laughs and tosses his discarded pajama shirt in Kili’s direction. “You have to wait just like everyone else.”

“But you know how much I hate  _ Romeo and Juliet _ . I will enjoy it now and tonight if you tell me.”

“Not a chance,” Fili retorts before ducking from their shared room. 

It is already early afternoon and the red and white tents are already coming alive. The smell of popcorn and candied fruit teases the senses. 

Night will come quickly and then everything will really get going. The lights will come on, their warm light turning the streets into flowing rivers of light, and the spaces between the tents will be filled with the laughter of children and adults alike. 

It is the laughter that Fili likes the most.

===

_ Fili was classically trained at the Académie Française. He had been there since childhood. And he was perfectly happy with the routine  _ _ and had recently started working at an opera house _ _. He rose early everyday in a dormitory shared with all the other men with goals of working on the stage. Fili was focused on directing and writing new plays. _

_ And today he was to turn in a new play that he had written. _

_ He was so excited that he could not eat. _

_ Afterwards he could not force himself to eat no matter how hard he tried. He slipped outside to sit on the stone steps, the pages of his manuscript still clutched in his fist. _

_ “How can you be so sad on such a lovely day?” A cheerful voice had asked. _

_ Fili had ignored them. He stared at the title page of his carefully typed manuscript. He moved to tear the whole manuscript in half, but before he could a quick hand snatched it from him. _

_ “Hey!” Fili leapt to his feet, ready to fight whoever had taken the  _ horrendous— _ his instructor’s words—play from his hands. _

_ But the man was already grinning widely at the title. The grin turned into a full bodied laugh only a few pages in.  _

_ The man lifted his head from the pages, “This is wonderful! Why are you sad?”  _

_ Fili kicked at the stone step. “My professor would not agree with you.” _

_ The man snorted. “I think I know the sort: suit, self-important attitude, a stick the size of an elm tree up their ass?”  _

_ It was Fili’s turn to laugh. _

===

Kili appears at Fili’s elbow. “Is it time?”

“Almost.”

“Here,” Kili pushes a warm glass mug of mulled wine into Fili’s hands, chilled to the touch.

“Thanks.” He nudges Kili’s arm with his elbow.

“Nervous?”

“A bit,” Fili admits. He peeks through the heavy velvet curtains to see the assembled crowd that grows by the minute. 

“It’ll be great.”

“I hope so.”

“Hey, you’re not missing that dusty old opera hall that I stole you from are you?”

“Of course not,” Fili chuckles. “It wasn’t all that dusty though. The Comte made sure that we had the best of everything.”

“Nostalgic are we?”

Fili turns to face Kili. “No. Even if I had the choice to go back, I would stay here.” He reaches for Kili’s hand and gives it a squeeze.

===

The parody is successful with its masks, its drama, and its humor. 

Fili is dragged on stage, face flushed with joy and from the kiss Kili had just given him backstage to the chorus of the applause, to take a bow.

  
  



End file.
